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SLR


How is 35mm SLR film different from other types of 35mm films? What does SLR stand for?


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June 16, 2002

 

John A. Lind
  Jennifer,
This reads very suspiciously like a take-home quiz or test question . . .

SLR = Single Lens Reflex

For still photography it's not. Any 35mm film can be used in any 35mm still camera: viewfinder, rangefinder, TLR, or SLR. The sole exceptions are IR films. They can be used in any 35mm format camera, but some (newer) cameras will fog IR films because they have internal sensors that emit IR for detecting film presence and reading the DX coding on the film cannister. Films that react to visible light are not affected by these sensors.

There is a difference between the structures of emulsions on 35mm cinema films and 35mm still photography films. 35mm cinema film can be used in 35mm still cameras and vice versa, if it's spooled so it can be loaded (onto a reel for cinema or into a cartridge for still). Still camera film emulsion structures and bases are optimized for that still photography just as cinema film emulsions and bases are optimized for cinema use. This optimization extends into processing methods, archival/storage requirements and archival life of the film.

The physical dimensions of the 35mm still camera and cinema films are identical (strip width, sprocket hole dimensions, and sprocket hole pitch).

-- John


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June 16, 2002

 
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